


Shower Crasher

by SassyEverlarking



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-13
Updated: 2014-01-13
Packaged: 2018-01-08 15:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1134446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyEverlarking/pseuds/SassyEverlarking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Madge drags Katniss along to the last place she wants to go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shower Crasher

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Everlark_Pearl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everlark_Pearl/gifts).



> Just a little thing I wrote for mellarksloaves (Everlark_Pearl) while she was somewhere she didn't want to be. It's completely unbeta'd, so I apologize for any mistakes and bad writing!

“I don’t know why you asked me to come to this thing,” Katniss hissed, reluctantly keeping pace beside Madge as they walked up the vaguely familiar walkway. “Delly and I aren’t exactly close.”

Madge scoffed. “Katniss, you ‘aren’t exactly close’ with most people.” She switched the festive bag she was carrying from on hand to the other.

“Exactly my point!” Katniss groaned, pausing a moment to throw back her hand and stomp her foot petulantly. The thick heel of the ‘nice’ shoes Madge insisted she wear clacked loudly against the stone walkway. When she brought her head back down, she found Madge staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not good with people, and I’m _especially_ not good with people who’ll be gushing about babies all day!” She pulled her hands out of the pocket of her fancy coat and crossed her arms. “I should be home in my comfy pants, watching more _Orange is the New Black…_ ”

Stepping back over to her, Madge grabbed hold of Katniss’ wrist. “But you’re not.” She pulled her protesting best friend towards the house once more. “You’re here with me, at Delly’s baby shower, and you’re gonna at least try to enjoy it.”

“I didn’t agree to that.” Katniss muttered, clomping up the front porch steps loudly.

“You agreed to be civil.” Madge reminded her, throwing a glance at her for the briefest of moments before ringing the doorbell.

Katniss shoved her hands back into her coat pockets. “I can be civil and still be having a shitty time.” A winning, and entirely fake, smile broke out on her face as the front door swung open and the pair found themselves gathered into the bone-crushing hug of Delly Cartwright.

\-----

It was getting harder for Katniss to look like she was having an semblance of fun. It didn’t matter how many hints Madge kept tossing her way, the ability to be chipper was fading fast. They’d been there an hour already. Her feet were killing her and her boobs were yearning to be free of the tight sweater she was wearing.

_‘And I can’t even get drunk_.’ Katniss thought to herself bitterly, taking another small sip of the virgin punch in her cup. She’d promised Madge she wouldn’t get completely blitzed on the party hooch, though she wasn’t sure why she’d had to. More than half of Delly’s friends were already wobbling around in their heels and were still knocking the stuff back like it was water.

She caught Madge’s pointed look from where she was playing another stupid baby shower game. Katniss smiled back sarcastically, trying to come up with ways to get back at her friend. Madge shook her head and turned back to the game.

Katniss turned back to the food table she was perched by. It was honestly the only decent thing about the party. She had staked camp by it as soon as she’d lost her first, and only, game of ‘Celeb Baby Names’. Setting her cup down on the corner of the table, Katniss leaned over to snatch another handful of petit fours from the platter.

She was chewing one on happily, with another already making its way to her mouth when a voice broke into her chocolate induced ecstasy.

“So I didn’t do half bad with those then?”

Katniss whipped around, the chocolate suddenly feeling like paste on her tongue as she took in who had come up to join her. More specifically, the ‘he’ that had come up to join her. He with deep blue eyes and unruly blonde curls, and a jaw like it was chiseled from stone.

“Wha-?” She mumbled out before she could stop herself.

He pointed at the half-eaten tiny cake in her hand, still lifted halfway to her mouth. “The petit fours - they’re good?”

Lowering her one hand, Katniss brought the free one up to cover her mouth. She swallowed thickly and nodded, hoping she could make the blush creeping up her neck go away with the quick shaking of her head. “Oh, you made these?”

“I did.” He smiled proudly, shoving his hands deep into the front pockets of his jeans. “First time doing it on my own - they’re more my dad’s thing.”

“Are you the caterer?” Katniss turned away briefly to drop the half-eaten cake in her hand onto the table.

“Technically speaking, yes.” He answered. When Katniss turned back to him with a mild look of confused, he shrugged. “I’m Delly’s cousin...Peeta.”

Her confused look grew more pronounced. He’d said it like it should’ve been obvious. Like she knew him or-

“Peeta Mellark?” He emphasized, tilting his head a bit. “We went to elementary school together…”

Katniss’ eyes widened as recognition hit her. “Oh god, yes!” A hazy memory of a chubby little blonde boy sharing his cookies with her at lunch flashed in her mind. “Yes, Peeta! I remember you!” She said a little too loudly, wiping her hand on her jeans before sticking it out towards him. Warmth radiated up her arm as he took her hand in his for a firm shake. “You moved away in the middle of-”

“Middle school, that’s right.” Peeta nodded, his smile bright at her remembering him.

“Yeah.” Katniss smiled back, still slowly shaking his hand. She felt the blush creep back up as she realized that she was staring at him, grinning like an idiot. “So uh…” She dropped his hand, wiping hers on her jeans once again. “What are you doing here? This is a girls only shower, I thought?”

Peeta pointed to the table laden with food. “Catering…”

Katniss looked to the table and then back at him quickly, the blush on her cheeks darkening. “Right, duh.” She lightly slapped herself in the forehead, and then silently cursed herself for looking like a complete fool.

Shoving his hands back in his pockets, Peeta shrugged. “Plus, I just moved back into town and...well…” He leaned in and whispered. “I don’t really know Thom all that well, so Dell said it was okay if I crashed this party instead. Beats playing GTA V in my underwear all day.”

Katniss laughed sharply. “Now I don’t know about that…”

Peeta lifted his eyebrows in amusement. Katniss was sure embarrassment was going to swallow her whole and she grabbed her cup from the table. She took a deep drink of the punch to keep herself from saying something else dumb.

“Anyway,” Peeta grinned at her obvious cover up. “I saw you standing over here by yourself, seeming to enjoy the food, and figured I’d reintroduce myself and preen a little bit.”

Making a noise of acknowledgement in her throat, Katniss nodded dumbly and continued to sip her punch.

“And I was kinda hoping you wouldn’t mind if I...I joined you over here?” Peeta dipped his head and glanced up at her through the blond curls falling in his eyes. “I mean, you don’t need to be a loner...alone…” He frowned and looked away, the blush slowly inching up his neck this time.

Katniss smiled at the sight of it, feeling the unexpected flutter of something in her stomach. She took the final swallow from her cup, lowering it from her lips. “Well...I do need more punch now…”

Peeta looked back at her quickly. She smiled a little brighter, not an ounce of fakeness in it, and shrugged innocently.

“Okay.” Peeta nodded, holding his hand out to take her cup from her.


End file.
